The *hunt* is on for my top dog!

I love Easter... Why? Because I get to play "dog mom" to my little one Poncho. I know I know, even though I am a positive reinforcement dog trainer here in Ventura at The Inquisitive Canine. I do know I'm an over-the-top dog mom too. Every Easter I like to set up a "kibble hunt" for Poncho in our back yard. This is actually something I often do for...

Therapy dogs and reading...

Let's give a BIG shout-out to the Ventura County H.P. Wright Library! Why? Because of their "Paws for Reading" program. How wonderful it was to find out they offer such a delightful program to the children of our community - and to the many Canine Good Citizens and their humans too. Improving reading skills, as well as building self-confidence (for both the children and the dogs, right?) Plus, it's just downright fun! For additional information on...

Dog Behavior: a realistic look

Poncho and I just got home from spending a nice romp on the baseball field. Before we walked around ourselves I spent a few minutes just watching the young kids with their parents playing catch, doing warm-up drills, and getting settled in before they started their game. I noticed there were some kids throwing the ball in every direction they could - even if no one in particular was there to catch it...just giggling and flailing about - having such...

Positive Reinforcement and dog training - what is is?

The term "Positive Reinforcement" is such the "in thing" to say nowadays when it comes to training your pet dog - but what exactly does it mean? In a very small nutshell, it means adding something, or giving something, to an animal they find pleasant after a behavior is performed in order to increase the frequency of that behavior. For example: you ask your dog to sit, she does, you give her a cookie. With consistency, she will probably start offering...